Herbivore-induced volatile production by Arabidopsis thaliana leads to attraction of the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula: Chemical, behavioral, and gene-expression analysis
Rmp. Van Poecke et al., Herbivore-induced volatile production by Arabidopsis thaliana leads to attraction of the parasitoid Cotesia rubecula: Chemical, behavioral, and gene-expression analysis, J CHEM ECOL, 27(10), 2001, pp. 1911-1928
Many plant species defend themselves against herbivorous insects indirectly
by producing volatiles in response to herbivory. These volatiles attract c
arnivorous enemies of the herbivores. Research on the model plant Arabidops
is thaliana (L.) Heynh. has contributed considerably to the unraveling of s
ignal transduction pathways involved in direct plant defense mechanisms aga
inst pathogens. Here, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis is also a good candid
ate for studying signal transduction pathways involved in indirect defense
mechanisms by showing that: (1) Adult females of Cotesia rubecula, a specia
list parasitic wasp of Pieris rapae caterpillars, are attracted to P. rapae
-infested Arabidopsis plants. (2) Arabidopsis infested by P rapae emits vol
atiles from several major biosynthetic pathways, including terpenoids and g
reen leaf volatiles. The blends from herbivore-infested and artificially da
maged plants are similar. However, differences can be found with respect to
a few components of the: blend, such as two nitriles and the monoterpene m
yrcene, that were produced exclusively by caterpillar-infested plants, and
methyl salicylate, that was produced in larger amounts by caterpillar-infes
ted plants. (3) Genes from major biosynthetic pathways involved in volatile
production are induced by caterpillar feeding! These include AtTPS10, enco
ding a terpene synthase involved in myrcene production, AtPAL1, encoding ph
enylalanine ammonia-lyase involved in methyl salicylate production, and AtL
OX2 and AtHPL, encoding lipoxygenase and hydroperoxide lyase, respectively,
both involved in the production of green leaf volatiles. AtMOS, encoding a
llene oxide synthase, involved in the production of jasmonic acid, also was
induced by herbivory.